“General, it’s better to be cautious with your words.” Qiao Yan interrupted him firmly.

Being described as “useless” by Bu Ji did not make her show any anger on her face.

Even if Bu Ji was angry with her because of Liang Zhongning, he had to admire Liang Zhongning’s self-control.

He couldn’t help but wonder whether the provocative look he had seen before was just his misunderstanding or a result of his own narrow-mindedness.

Qiao Yan continued, “General Liang attacked Puyang, successfully captured the city, and broke the Tian family, which should be no different from General Zhang’s plan. Being falsely accused by you of ignoring orders, it’s like wanting to add crimes to me!”

Bu Ji wanted to take the opportunity to ask for food, but he was blocked by Qiao Yan’s words.

Before he could speak again, he saw a flash of anger in Qiao Yan’s eyes.

When she spoke again, her tone was a bit urgent, “As for what General said about being useless and lucky, I can’t agree.”

“If General thinks this is luck, why not give it three days to see if it’s luck!”

Bu Ji chuckled when he heard this. “Are you trying to lead people to dig pits again?”

He was quite interested in how Liang Zhongning broke through the fortress, but those who had benefited from following him naturally ignored Bu Ji’s words.

What he saw most clearly when he led the army away was the several pits.

If you ignore the insults, rockets, and feigned deaths, and just look at these pits, it’s hard not to think that their victory was just luck.

But Qiao Yan had no intention of explaining it to him.

From informing Liang Zhongning of her intention to leave, to wandering around Puyang street with Dian Wei, to the subtle provocations after encountering Bu Ji, it was all about her performance at this moment.

It seemed that being provoked by Bu Ji’s “leading people to dig pits again” made her quite angry.

Her hand clenched into a fist and trembled slightly for a moment before slowly relaxing.

While her face still showed a hint of anger, her tone had calmed down.

“General underestimates people too much. Even without digging pits, victory is still possible. I just hope that when I return, General won’t find it embarrassing and refuse to attend the celebration feast!”

Seeing the child’s calm demeanor but unable to hide her underlying frustration, Bu Ji immediately laughed loudly, “If we can really celebrate, what’s the harm in attending the feast? At that time, I will definitely invite General Zhang to celebrate with you!”

“But if you lose…” He left these four words unfinished before turning and leaving.

After Bu Ji’s figure disappeared from sight, Liang Zhongning approached Qiao Yan carefully and asked, “Sir, are you really going to act out of impulse again?”

For Liang Zhongning, it was a good thing that Qiao Yan was not leaving temporarily.

However, he had heard that scholars often had very high self-esteem. If Sir acted recklessly because of Bu Ji’s provocation, it would not be good.

But he only heard Qiao Yan say after retracting her gaze, “General, lend me five hundred men, and I will return with achievements before sunset tomorrow.”

“Really going?”

Qiao Yan’s gaze sharpened. “Yes! Why not? This person insulted me, which is to look down on me, a disciple of Zheng Shi from Gaomi. If I don’t show some achievements, won’t it embarrass Zheng Shi?”

Seemingly aware that her emotions were somewhat uncontrollable, she softened her tone and said, “General, there’s no need for you to go. Just give me some men.”

She planned to settle this matter here and then head to Beihai.

She needed to apologize sincerely to Zheng Xuan, her tool, but that didn’t prevent her from using this reason to push the situation forward without any guilt for lying.

Liang Zhongning couldn’t tell if there was anything false in her words.

Since she said so, besides granting her request, he really had nothing else to say.

But Qiao Yan’s performance didn’t seem forced at all.

As soon as she left Puyang City with her men, she headed straight to Gaoshi Wupu, showing no hesitation in her actions.

That was the fortress she had obtained information from Tian Dao and even had a part of the map.

This was a battle that could not fail.

Bu Ji tried to replicate Liang Zhongning’s achievements, attacking the large fortress, only to end in failure.

The spies from Gaoshi who were active outside had already passed on this information.

This undoubtedly made them feel that the Yellow Turbans’ military strength was nothing special.

As for how Gaoshi Wupu was breached, it was ultimately because they were incompetent.

But just as their defenses were slightly relaxed, they encountered Qiao Yan.

Not only did she have the advantage of knowing her enemy, but she also had a strong assistant like Dian Wei.

Before leaving Puyang City, she had even made sure that Dian Wei and the five hundred soldiers she brought out had a full meal and enough dry rations.

This undoubtedly improved their morale.

So when Bu Ji prepared to leave the camp and move around at dusk the next day, he saw Qiao Yan leading a group of people dragging dozens of carts loaded with food heading towards Puyang City.

This obviously wasn’t food smuggled out of the city to prop up appearances.

Behind the food carts were people bound with ropes, forced to walk, with fresh traces of having participated in the battle, as if they had just been defeated.

These were all unfamiliar faces.

Qiao Yan was sitting in the cart, with Dian Wei guarding in front, making Bu Ji dare not make any moves.

Her reliance that prevented others from directly grabbing the food was none other than Liang Zhongning, who had already heard the news and come out of the city to greet them, along with his accompanying soldiers.

Under the guard of these two sides, Bu Ji felt the smile on the other side’s face exceptionally glaring.

His cheek muscles trembled for a moment, and he couldn’t hide his unwillingness and dissatisfaction when he spoke, “Sir is very capable. I wonder how much benefit you will gain this time?”

Qiao Yan replied politely, “Naturally, it’s not as much as last time, only forty thousand bushels, not even rice, just ordinary grain.”

“…”

If Bu Ji knew the term “Versailles,” he would have pinned it on Qiao Yan.

He struggled to restrain the urge to curse, took a deep breath, and said, “Then I’ll wait quietly for this celebration banquet.”

Qiao Yan calmly glanced around.

As soon as the words “forty thousand bushels” came out, it wasn’t just Bu Ji who looked at her, but also the soldiers in his camp who had been living frugally.

Of course, these soldiers weren’t just looking at her, they were also looking at these carts, showing a covetous look in their eyes.

She intended to provoke this reaction!

Seeing these reactions, Qiao Yan thought to herself, “As expected,” and replied, “General Bu talks about a celebration banquet, which is underestimating my tolerance. General Liang obtained enough from Tian’s fortress to feed his army for two years. If the excess is taken entirely for oneself, wouldn’t that be selfish and greedy?”

Liang Zhongning had just arrived and heard this lofty accusation, feeling somewhat dumbfounded.

But he immediately saw that the people from Bu Ji’s side were looking at him with a bit more goodwill in their eyes.

Receiving such looks, and considering that he wasn’t as clever as Qiao Yan, he simply remained quiet, letting Sir continue.

On the other side, hearing Qiao Yan’s words, even Bu Ji couldn’t help but be stunned. “This…”

He had thought the other party had come to show off, but the reality left him somewhat confused.

She followed up that unexpected statement with, “However, this fortress was taken by General Liang’s men. These soldiers almost lost their lives when they breached the fortress. We can’t just give things to you for nothing. Now I have a way to kill two birds with one stone. I wonder if General Bu is willing to listen.”

“Please, go ahead and tell me,” Bu Ji said, somewhat anxious about what kind of deal Qiao Yan was proposing.

But as he shifted his gaze, he happened to see a hint of hesitation on Liang Zhongning’s face, immediately realizing—

This could very well be a piece of news that would benefit him.

However, little did he know, Liang Zhongning’s concern was not about losing benefits.

He was simply worried that if Qiao Yan intended to reconcile both sides, he wouldn’t even be able to use the excuse of “not having enough manpower to confront Bu Ji.”

His strategist was about to lose his mind. How could he not feel frustrated?

Feeling uneasy, he almost missed Qiao Yan’s next sentence. It was fortunate that he realized he shouldn’t be daydreaming at that moment and gathered his thoughts.

Qiao Yan continued, “If General Bu is willing, I can coordinate and you can use your troops to cooperate, just like when we captured the Tian and Gao fortresses. After the victory, the gains will go to your side, but you must give one-tenth to General Liang. What do you think?”

What do I think?

Her calm tone, coupled with the food carts behind her, created an extremely convincing argument.

She was indeed in a winning position on this matter.

Almost instantly, Bu Ji’s soldiers, who had been eyeing the food carts, shifted their gaze to their general.

This plan seemed feasible!

Looking at the soldiers behind Qiao Yan, who went out with five hundred men and returned with almost the same number, if not for Bu Ji’s status in the Yellow Turban Army, they would have tried to persuade him to agree the moment Qiao Yan finished speaking!

Bu Ji felt a chill down his spine from being stared at.

He struggled between “there might be deception in it” and “this deal is indeed profitable,” but he had already heard Qiao Yan’s conclusion, “So tonight’s midnight meeting in Puyang is not for celebration, but for an alliance. If General Bu is willing, please come with General Zhang.”

After saying this, she smiled gently at Bu Ji’s soldiers, then urged Dian Wei to continue driving the cart towards the city.

This act of disregarding past grievances and even offering benefits undoubtedly won the hearts of the surrounding Yellow Turban soldiers completely.

Liang Zhongning wanted to ask if she would leave after this deal, or if there was any suspicion of plotting against them, but every time he tried to speak, she would always shut him down with a “we’ll see tonight,” leaving him no choice but to stay silent.

However, for some reason, he had a premonition that something big was going to happen tonight.

This feeling peaked when Qiao Yan spread out a map on the table, signaling for Bu Ji and Zhang Bo to come forward and observe.

The map showed the distribution of fortresses around Puyang, which Liang Zhongning had seen before.

Qiao Yan had hand-drawn it a few days ago, with many small notes written on it.

Seeing Qiao Yan act so solemnly, Bu Ji and Zhang Bo subconsciously approached, holding candles.

In the face of absolute interests, people tend to overlook certain things.

Neither of them noticed that, in this movement, both had unintentionally moved out of the protection of their own troops.

Who would have thought that this slowly unfolding map was not just a map, but what their next meal depended on?

But in the moment the map was fully unfolded, two bursts of blood sprayed onto the parchment.

And then—

As Dian Wei dropped his short spear, two heads rolled onto the map.

The heads of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo.